Gaels one game from state
St. Edmond tops St. Ansgar in four
Trending
ST. ANSGAR -- Lindsay Heffernan put everything in perspective at a crucial juncture on Monday night.
The St. Edmond volleyball team led two sets to one and St. Ansgar (19-17) just rallied to tie the contest at 12-12 when Heffernan called a timeout.
"I just told them to forget what happened and it's 0-0," Heffernan said. "Don't think about what we lost and play like it's the start of the match.
"I just wanted to reset their minds and tell them to go out and get it."
The Gaels did exactly that, going on a 7-2 run to up the score to 19-14. St. Ansgar went on a 4-0 run to cut the lead to one.
St. Edmond built a 21-18 lead and the teams alternated points before Eden Horn powered the final kill for a 25-22 victory.
"We are starting to get players back after being sick or hurt," Heffernan said. "Our stats are deceiving and so is our record with playing in the North Central Conference.
"There were times in the season where we didn't take care of business and lost some close games. We are finally getting to where we should be."
The Gaels won the first set 25-17 and the second 25-22 before falling 25-22 in the third set.
"We prepared for them defensively and knew they had good outside hitters," Heffernan said. "It's a big part of their offense.
"Just like any competition they adjusted and then we had to adjust in the fourth set as well."
Horn led the Gaels with 17 kills. Baylor Ulrich had seven and Horn had six blocks. Ella Vandi led St. Edmond with 27 digs and Chloe Palmer had 20.
The Gaels advanced to the substate match with a five-set victory in the semifinals.
"This was a great match for the girls," Heffernan said. "In general we had a group of volleyball players that didn't understand volleyball, but now do."
St. Edmond (16-18) will now face second-ranked Boyden Hull (23-11) in a substate final for the right to advance to the state tournament.
The contest will begin at 7 p.m. in Spencer.